The Baddest Villainess Is Back - Chapter 88
Upon exiting, she saw a group of Kalutans engaged in a discussion.
“Where are you going, Miss?”
“Just out to buy something to eat.”
“Ah~.”
The technicians, proud of their arm muscles, presented a somewhat intimidating presence with five of them gathered. Two from the group approached Roxelyn.
“Let’s go.”
“I can manage on my own.”
“Oh, how could we let a friend go alone? Besides, in the Empire, it’s common for important people to have some tough folks accompanying them, right?”
The Kalutan waved his hand dismissively.
‘Narayan and Batar aren’t here.’
Noticing Roxelyn’s silent query, one of the Kalutans spoke up.
“If you’re looking for Batar and Narayan, they’ve gone off to nap.”
Roxelyn nodded lightly.
Given the length of their journey, giving them a few days to rest in Landarin was only fair.
Yet, the atmosphere in Landarin was unsettling.
“It feels eerily uneasy around here.”
“Indeed~ It’s not just this village, several villages have been razed overnight recently…”
A Kalutan yawned lengthily and chuckled.
“Some bastard’s behind it. If caught, should be split in half. ××, why engage in such a ××ing act?”
He muttered fiercely.
Roxelyn chuckled lightly at the colorful language, earning a glance from the man.
“Was that too rough for a foreigner?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Is that so? Ah, I’m Sanja. That one’s Nergui. Feel free to call us whatever you prefer.”
“Will do.”
Roxelyn responded tersely.
“Wow, it’s been a while since we ventured outside Kalutan territory.”
Their presence drew startled looks everywhere they went, as Sanja mentioned.
“It might be best to head to the capital as soon as possible, given the ominous feel,” Nergui added more gravely, unlike Sanja.
“Ah~ Given your fragility, you might collapse at any moment. Best we head quickly to where the Emperor resides,” Sanja remarked.
Considering the suggestion, Roxelyn agreed lightly and entered a sandwich shop.
She bought several items, including sandwiches, enough to fill two paper bags.
“Is this what you came out for?”
“Yes, I have some things to do in my room, and I tend to get immobile when focused on one task.”
“Why didn’t you ask someone else to fetch it?”
“I wanted to clear my head. Anyway, thanks for the escort.”
Returning from her brief shopping, Roxelyn handed one of the bags to Sanja.
“You must be hungry, so you can share this between yourselves. Don’t stay out too long, or you’ll catch a cold.”
Roxelyn entered her lodging.
Sanja, holding the bag dumbfoundedly and looking at the sandwiches, turned to Nergui.
“…What’s a cold?”
“It’s a sickness where you keep coughing if it’s too cold.”
“…And we should be careful of that? The Empire’s boiling hot.”
Hearing something new, Sanja scratched his chest with his nails.
“Ugh, do foreigners always talk in such a roundabout way?”
Sanja muttered, his lips curling slightly.
***
“Ah, there you are. Wondered where you went… Miss.”
Greeting Roxelyn upon her return was the man she had bumped into earlier.
He seemed to be dining alone in the first-floor restaurant, waving with a spoon in his mouth as she paused.
He approached, waving eagerly as if meeting an old friend.
“Ah, what was it? Just remembered something I wanted to say.”
The man spoke in a tired monotone.
“Miss, I have a bit of a knack for sensing things…”
Leaning casually with one hand in his pocket, he looked every part the idler.
Suddenly drawing closer, the man pulled Roxelyn into a secluded corridor, grasping her shoulder and smiling.
“You know me, right?”
Leaning in close, the man whispered in her ear.